Chapter 94: Ready to Hear Me Out Now?

Lin Yan closed the trait panel and headed toward the rear of the position. As he passed the gun carriage, he gave the newcomer a pat on the shoulder and kept walking.

"Wait!"

The young man flinched at his own shout. When Lin Yan stopped, he hurriedly pointed toward the machine-gun emplacements.

"The people who shot at you—they were forced to! They would’ve been killed if they refused. None of us dared disobey. Could you... spare them?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lin Yan looked where he was pointing.

The machine guns had fallen silent, ammunition belts lying scattered around them. One man crouched behind the sandbags, inching toward the rear. Another had already fled some distance when he glanced back, saw Lin Yan looking, and stumbled headlong into a trench. Two more sat beside a gun mount, too frightened to run, their heads buried between their knees.

Lin Yan watched for a moment, then turned back.

"Fine. I’ll leave them alone."

The newcomer’s shoulders sagged with relief. Before he could speak, Lin Yan jerked his chin toward the rear.

"Take me to whoever’s in charge."

"This way. I’ll show you."

He quickly set down the wrench and led Lin Yan through the position.

...

The command post occupied a concrete building beside the hangar. Blackout cloth covered the windows. Outside, a truck stood with its hood removed, two soldiers crouching beside a wheel, their hands black with grease.

Raised voices carried from inside before they reached the door.

"Two men? If they die out there, we won’t even know what happened! Send another squad. Split them up. We need contact with the rear today!"

"Sir, we’re down to a handful of working vehicles. They’re already moving wounded and hauling ammunition between positions. We don’t have any to spare."

"Then fix the one outside!"

"We don’t have the parts. The supply convoy is three days overdue, and the road’s blocked by monsters. With the radio interference, we don’t even know where they—"

Something slammed against the table.

"The trucks are broken, the road’s blocked, the radios are dead! Every time I ask for something, you tell me why it can’t be done! What the fuck am I keeping you around for?"

A brief silence followed. Then someone muttered from the far end of the table.

"We could’ve pulled out two days ago. He insisted on waiting for orders, and now it’s our fault..."

"Who said that?"

Chair legs scraped across the floor.

"Who the fuck said that? Stand up!"

A shout came from outside.

"Stop! They’re in a meeting!"

The newcomer hurried to explain. "I need to see the commander. This man—"

"He’s not going in. Put the sword down!"

Lin Yan had removed his damaged faceplate and clipped it to his waist. He glanced at the rifle blocking his path.

"I just need a few words. Then I’m gone."

The muzzle rose.

"Back off!"

Before anyone inside could make out what happened next, a startled cry came through the door, followed by the thud of a rifle butt hitting concrete.

"Weapons ready!"

Chairs scraped back. Some men drew pistols; others snatched rifles from against the wall. The officer had barely stepped around his chair when the door opened.

A tall young man in bloodstained black armor stood in the doorway, an exceptionally long nodachi hanging at his waist. Outside, one sentry backed away clutching his wrist, his rifle at his feet. The other was braced against the wall, struggling to get his footing.

The newcomer followed Lin Yan inside, looking utterly stricken. Lin Yan could leave when his business was done. He still had to live here.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The officer leveled his pistol at Lin Yan’s chest.

"Who gave you permission to come in?"

Lin Yan stopped just inside the room.

"I need to discuss something with you. I need a—"

"I asked who you are!"

The officer’s gaze shifted to the young man behind him.

"You brought him? Since when do you get to bring strangers into my command post? What the hell are the sentries out there for?"

"Sir, he’s here to—"

"Shut up! Did I ask you?"

Lin Yan frowned.

"Let me finish."

"Unbuckle that sword belt! Hands up! You hear me?"

The officer stepped closer. The other guns swung toward Lin Yan.

Lin Yan looked at him, then drove his right fist into the concrete wall beside him.

BANG!

His gauntlet punched straight through. Chunks of concrete burst from the other side, the doorframe shuddered, and plaster dust cascaded down. Several men instinctively ducked.

Lin Yan withdrew his hand.

A hole ran clean through the wall. Loose pieces broke from its edges and clattered to the floor. Pale daylight shone through the drifting dust.

The officer’s mouth was still open. Nothing came out.

Lin Yan shook the dust from his hand and turned back to him.

"Ready to hear me out now?"

Nobody answered. Their eyes moved between the hole and Lin Yan’s right hand, their raised weapons growing conspicuously unsteady. The officer stared at the concrete dust on his gauntlet, swallowed, and let his pistol dip.

"Lower your weapons."

A soldier by the wall hesitated, looking at him.

"I said lower your fucking weapons! Are you deaf?"

The guns came down almost together, faster than they had gone up.

If the officer hadn’t been there, they would have lowered them already. Who wanted to keep a gun trained on something that could punch through a concrete wall? One hit like that and there might not be enough left of a man to bury.

The officer forced the anger from his face and managed a smile.

"You’re from the north, aren’t you? Things have been tense these last few days. The sentries are being extra cautious. I hope you understand."

He gave a nearby sergeant a look. The man immediately pulled out a chair and kicked an obstructing crate beneath the table.

"Please, sit. Let’s talk." ℴℴ𝘮

Then the officer turned a colder look on the newcomer.

"Fetch some water."